Welcome to part 2 on the subject of “The Hypocrisy in
Corporate Value Statements”, and thanks to all who wrote me to express your
opinion or comments from part 1.
Your comments and opinions are always welcome and
appreciated. Really! Iron sharpens iron.
One comment came from a guy whom I admire a great deal and
whom I consider my friend. He’s CEO of a large company with multi national
locations. He suggested that I should have used one of the more “positive”
title options I had listed. This CEO is a very up beat and positive guy and
leads his organization looking at the glass half full and seeing the world full
of opportunities. I admire his consistent attitude.
The reason I used the title I did was because of the word
“Hypocrite.”
The word hypocrite ultimately came into
English from the Greek word
hypokrites, which means “an actor” or “a stage player.” Wearing a theatrical mask from the 1st century B.C. people
“pretended” to be something they were not.
I’m sure you’ve heard non-religious people
explain why they don’t go to church. One of the reasons they often use is
because there are so many hypocrites (church members) in those buildings who
live differently than what they profess, their pretenders, actors, who live
like everyone else but claim morale supremacy. Parenthetically, do the people
who make those tedious claims about people who go to church, really think they
will get a free pass and that God will say “OMG, I never looked at it that
way.”
The same thing holds true with businesses who
loudly declare their values and ethics but who are, by their actions, really
just pretenders.
Today, I’m going to
frame this blog post with “The
Destroyers Of A Healthy Company Culture.” The two destroyers described are difficult to
control and require a consistent discipline starting with people at the top of
the organization. They are…
Ø
Eliminate
gossip
Ø
Get rid
of those who spread dissension.
Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or
private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling.
matter. Anthropologists suggest people talk to people about
other people to build a bond with someone or to isolate someone else who does
not support their group. Also there is that desire in some people to be viewed
as “in the know.” This seductive habit draws the most sadistic traits out of
us.
Sadly, this habit,
unchecked, can become a poison in your organization and, if not dealt with, can
become part of the accepted norm. I worked with a large accounting group whose
major cause for the dysfunction was little groups who became silos of gossip
about others. Unfortunately, I’ve sat in board rooms where the top executives
“warm up” was to laugh or gossip about people in their business.
Some of you might be
saying right now, “lighten up Bill, have a sense of humor. It’s just innocent
behavior.” Not so fast! The little term “sticks and stones may break my bones,
but words will never hurt me” is a lie. It does hurt and you can bet the target
of gossip will find out one way or the other.
So can you stop it in your organization? Probably not
completely, but there are things you can do beyond establishing a policy or “no
gossip zone.”
1.
Top leadership should let people know how they
feel about this destructive habit in their communication along side of their
value statements.
2.
I read an article on this subject in the Harvard
Business Review that is worth sharing.
“Gossip. When I can see the
conversation is headed in a gossip direction, I politely stop them and say:
“Please do not put anything in my head that you expect me to not act on. I will
not carry around a conclusion about another person without sharing it with
them.” This helps people understand that when they give you information, they
take responsibility — otherwise you don’t want it.”
3.
Before you begin to pass along information about
another person, follow Alan Redpath’s suggestion. Think before you speak. Ask
yourself “is it true, is it helpful, is it necessary, is it kind.”
The other destructive behavior is similar to gossip but with
more individual connotations, i.e. carriers of dissention or troublemakers.
There are some people in almost every business who delight in “stirring the
pot” by talking about others or complaining about the company, policies and or
customers. Sadly some of these people are often some of the most talented
people in the organization. If only they could challenge their energy in a more
productive way. These people can be cancer in your business by their habit of
tearing others down to make themselves look good.
I worked with a very talented CFO who was like this. He
would come in my office and talk about the short comings of his boss (the
president of the company). Being a consultant, I had to tread softly but I was
able to affirm my support of the president and my confidence in his ability to
run the organization. Union’s get their
genesis with this type of behavior. Nothing wrong with having a difference of
opinion but carried to an extreme a culture of “WE versus THEM” begins to form.
So what to do about it if this is a pervasive problem.
1.
Deal with it head on with those people who are
your problem people. If you know of this troubling habit and do nothing then,
in essence, you’re condoning destructive behavior.
2.
Make behaviors part of the “performance review.”
Let people know that their growth in the organization will be, in part, the
consideration of behavior and attitudes toward the organization and fellow
employees.
3.
Develop a culture of “positive feedback.” I
actually teach such a class, which outlines the do’s and dont’s of the process,
and give empirical evidence of how it works in real business life.
Stay tuned for the next post as we
explore hypocritical habits and search for destroyers of a healthy company
culture. Striving always to…
Finish Well
